Fishing for chili and hamburgers

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PORT-AU-PRINCE - Two Haitian men and a boy rowing in a small boat in the Port-au-Prince bay had a lucky catch on Tuesday.

A U.S. Coast Guard boat ferrying passengers out to the USNS Comfort hospital ship stopped briefly to toss them Meals Ready-to-Eat, a bottle of sunblock and assorted energy bars.

“I think you got the cheeseburger and chili mac and cheese. Let me know how you like it,” shouted the boat’s commander. The Haitians seemed to speak no English but smiled broadly and waved in return as they rowed around to fish out the food floating on the water.

The high calorie meals are designed for to provide nutrition for military men and women who burn a lot of calories. The meals should last them at least two days, the commander said.

Their small boat was dwarfed by everything else in the water, especially the 890-foot-long, 60,000-ton Comfort.

Photo Credit: Reuters/Eliana Aponte (Boaters near the USNS Comfort off the coast of Haiti)